Paper Arthur
by FruitfulMelonCauli
Summary: One Christmas, Arthur Read gets Paper Mario. He likes it, and one night, he imagines that he is in the game. Along the way, he, Mario, and Wario meet eight friends, who develop an interesting dynamic between each other. Can they all work out their differences, find the Star Spirits, stop Bowser, and return the Star Rod to Star Haven?
1. Attack on Peach's Castle

_**Paper Arthur**_

 _Chapter 0-1 Attack on Peach's Castle_

A long time ago, I attempted several times to write a Paper Mario crossover. These attempts were pretty abominable, but nonetheless showed that you can't succeed without failure! Then back in 2011, Arthur popped into my head for some odd reason, and the idea stuck! Wario managed to get into the stories as well, as I was obsessed with WarioWare DIY when I came up with the idea to implement him. My first attempt at Paper Arthur was still pretty terrible, so I pretty much gave up, until I decided to play Paper Mario again one day. I was also drawn into and intrigued by TrueSapphire's Paper Mario Eds, which also inspired my Star Wars and Ed, Edd n Eddy crossover, Star Eds. I started gathering ideas for this fanfic over time. Two years later, I finally got around to writing the first chapter using self-recorded footage as a reference!

Disclaimer: I do not own Wario, Paper Mario, or Arthur.

* * *

And now here's an introduction by Arthur himself!  
(Arthur is playing a video game. He turns to his audience.)  
Arthur: Video games are fun and all, but you have to remember not to play too much... On the other hand...  
D.W.: Can I watch Mary Moo Cow now?  
Arthur: No! Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, imagine if you were actually in the game! Now that would be even greater! You could interact with all the characters in the game, and you could live the adventure!  
D.W.: Please let me watch Mary Moo Cow now! I won't annoy you for a month or two if you do!  
Arthur: *sigh* Alright, fine...

* * *

It all started one Christmas morning. Arthur and D. W. were very elated-  
"What's elated mean?" asked D. W.  
Alright, shut up! Ahem, I was about to say, that the kids got quite a few gifts for Christmas. D. W. unwrapped her only present, a big box. Inside it was a pile of coal. (One of the pieces was carved into Mary Moo Cow.)  
Buried within the pile of coal were a VHS combo pack of Doll Story and Doll Story 2*, a giant Mary Moo Cow doll, and an ice cream maker, along with a few other things D.W. wanted.  
Arthur, on the other hand, had all of his presents wrapped separately. He got the latest issue of Bionic Bunny, along with a Johnny Proton figure, and a PWEL** set of the Millennium Eagle. He was on to his last gift. Cue the suspense.  
What, the title of the story gives it away? Okay, I guess you got me. Yes, he did indeed get Paper Mario.  
"Hey, I asked Santa for Stupid Wario 64, not Paper Mario!" he said.  
"Maybe Santa didn't have Stupid Wario 64," said D. W.  
"Well, I guess I can do with Paper Mario..."  
He placed it among his collection which included Dopémon*** Stadium, Tale of Link: Recorder of Time, Space Canine 64, and SilverNose 006, along with a few others, (The last one, Bionic Bunny 64, was in the garbage bin. An awful video game!) before he went to work on his homework for Christmas break... (Curse that crazy Mr. Ratburn!) And what was a Mary Moo Cow game doing in his collection?  
Once he was all finished with his homework for the break, he started playing the game. Oftentimes, his friends would come to his house and watch him play. And D. W. wouldn't be able to bother him because he was so engaged in the game. She hated that she wouldn't be able to watch Mary Moo Cow when Arthur was playing. Arthur was clearly addicted to the game, playing it over and over again when he wasn't busy.

* * *

One night, Arthur was exhausted after a productive day of going to the library, hanging out at Buster's house, and practicing the piano. He played through the game once more and went to bed.

* * *

In the morning, when he woke up, Arthur felt a very odd sensation. It just simply didn't feel like reality anymore.  
"Mail delivery!" a voice called.  
 _That's weird,_ Arthur thought. _Nobody ever delivers mail by hand anymore, much less declare the delivery was made!_  
"Arthur!" nagged D.W. "The mail-"  
"I know, D. W.!" replied the irate Arthur. "Did you read the text?"  
"No, I can't read!"  
Arthur groaned at D.W.'s excuse. He just went to get the mail, trying not to think about it.  
He noticed a cute little letter from a Princess Peach Toadstool amongst the other mail.  
It read, "You're invited to Peach's Castle!" on the envelope.  
"What's in that?" asked D.W. as Arthur opened the envelope.  
"None of your business, D.W."  
Arthur went to his room to read the letter in peace. It read,  
 _To whoever is reading this,_  
 _I'm throwing a party at my castle today, and I would be honored if you could attend! There will be many guests from distant towns, there will be fun, and best of all, there will be cake! I hope to see you there!_  
 _Sincerely, Princess Toadstool_  
 _Peach_  
Once Arthur was finished reading the letter, a Warp Pipe suddenly appeared in front of him. For some reason, he had the urge to go into the pipe, and he did so without hesitation. The Warp Pipe disappeared before D.W. could get in.

* * *

"Where am I?" he asked when he came out of the Warp Pipe. Mario came out as well, pushing him out of the pipe.  
"Sorry," said Mario, jumping out after Arthur.  
"Hey... You're Mario!"  
"Mhmm, that's-a me!"  
Just then, Luigi came out of the pipe as well.  
"Luigi too?" said the ecstatic Arthur. "I get to meet you both!"  
"W-Who are you?" Luigi asked, startled.  
"I'm Arthur Read!"  
"Oh, yeah! We know you from your books and TV show!"  
And Luigi got out a list of characters from popular books and TV shows that they met. He checked off Arthur's name on the list.  
"Say, are you guys going to Princess Peach's party too?"  
"Yup!" the brothers said, in unison.  
And so they went off to Peach's Castle. This party would be great, indeed.

* * *

When they got to Peach's castle, they were greeted by the sound of lively gossip in the air.  
"Hey, Mario!" greeted a yellow Toad and a Blue Toad. "Hey, Luigi!"  
"Hey, Ala-Gold! Hey Bucken-Berry!" Mario replied back.  
"Who's that boy you guys have with you?" asked Ala-Gold.  
"I'm Arthur," said Arthur. "It's nice to meet you two!"  
"It's nice meeting you too, Arthur!" replied Bucken-Berry.  
Other guests came from all over the Mushroom Kingdom, each and every one of them greeting Mario (And sometimes Luigi) as he passed by. Mario would greet them back, whilst introducing them to Arthur (And Luigi, when they didn't recognize him).  
"Wow! Look at this castle!" said Arthur in awe. "It seems like there are so many guests in this place already!"  
"Oh, yeah," said Mario. "Who knew how long they waited for the party to start?"  
"This castle is magnificent," said Luigi. "I'll never get used to this place."  
"Hey, losers!" shouted two voices. Suddenly, a stout, chubby elf-like man in yellow, Wario, and a lanky elf-like man in purple, Waluigi, showed up in front of the three.  
"Look who showed up," said Waluigi.  
"Yeah!" said Wario. "Losers like you two don't belong at a fun party like this!"  
Mario and Luigi were infuriated. Their rivals were acting very uncourteous at a fun party where such behavior should be forbidden.  
"Hey! You leave Mario and Luigi alone!" interjected Arthur.  
Wario and Waluigi grumbled in response.  
"And who are _you_?" sneered Wario.  
"I'm Arthur, their friend!"  
Mario and Luigi exchanged rather weirded out glances.  
"Listen, I'm here for the cake, and I'm not letting you three near it!" Wario scowled at Arthur.  
"Hey, what about me?" asked Waluigi as the two headed to the kitchen.  
"...Maybe we should follow them? I'm starving for cake!" said Arthur.  
"Nah, bad idea," the Mario Brothers said. "Wario and Waluigi love to pick fights over anything they want."  
"Master Mario!" called a voice. It was Toadsworth. Two Toad Guards followed behind him. "The princess is waiting in her private chambers. She wants to see you."  
"Hmm... Okey-dokey!"  
"Follow me, ol'chaps! Tally-ho!"  
Toadsworth led the three up the stairs, passing the second-floor hall, to Peach's chamber. Toadsworth motioned to the Toad Guard blocking the chamber's door, who promptly allowed Mario, Luigi, Arthur, and Toadsworth to pass while the other two Toad Guards stayed behind.

* * *

"Mario!" gasped Princess Peach. "You came!"  
Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth bowed down to her. Arthur bowed a second or two after the other three.  
"And who do we have here?" Peach smiled at Arthur.  
"This is Arthur, umm..." began Toadsworth.  
"Read," finished Arthur. "I can't believe I'm speaking to the one and only Princess Peach!"  
"Oh! Arthur Read!" exclaimed Peach. "Such a charming boy, if I must say so myself! Oh, yes, it's so tiring going out there to greet everybody... It's nice to have Mario bring some guests here for a change."  
Luigi, Toadsworth, and Arthur left the chambers to give Mario and Peach some privacy.

* * *

A few minutes later, however, things began to change, as the castle started rumbling.

"Dear me! Master Luigi! We'd better get everybody to evacuate the castle! Arthur, young chap, I know we just met, but please get Princess Peach out of the castle, pronto! I can't go a second without worrying about her!" The castle started ascending from the ground.  
Before the castle raised to heights unsafe to fall from, Luigi, Ala-Gold, Bucken-Berry, and Toadsworth had gotten most of the partygoers to evacuate, despite being continually heckled by Waluigi. Unfortunately, they couldn't get Wario, who refused to leave the cake in the kitchen and was too hefty to move around.

Under Peach's castle was a bigger castle, with Bowser's face in front and an upside-down dome with a scary clown face on it.

* * *

When he got into the chambers, Arthur stood fearful, not knowing what to do as the clouds began to fall and the sky outside the window appeared to get darker and darker.  
"Mario? Arthur?" Peach had a worried expression on her face. "What happened? Are you two okay?"  
"Umm... You might wanna look outside..." Arthur said.  
"Oh, my!" Peach jumped when she saw the sky. She could see stars outside. She peered down the window. They were high, high above the ground. "It can't be nighttime now..."  
"This must-a be the work of Bowser!" Mario exclaimed. As soon as he said it, a shady figure he could make out to be the Koopa King himself, as well as his purple-clad Magikoopa assistant Kammy, drew closer and closer at a rapid rate. "Watch out, Princess!"  
Peach gasped as she quickly got out of the way before Bowser and Kammy crashed through the window.  
"I knew it!" exclaimed Mario, ready to stomp Bowser.  
"Gwaa ha ha ha ha ha! You guessed that right, Mario!" Bowser exclaimed. "And who do we have here with the lovely Princess Peach?"  
"You leave us alone!" yelled Peach.  
"Gwah hah ha ha! No, this castle is under my jurisdiction now! I leave you alone when I want to leave you alone!"  
"Surrender-a now, Bowser! I won't negotiate!"  
"Do your worst! Too bad you can't do anything this time!"  
"Not if I can't help it!" Mario hopped onto Bowser.  
"I may have never been able to beat you before, Mario, but soon the tables will have turned!"  
"Mario! You can do it!" encouraged Peach.  
Mario stomped on Bowser, making him recoil.  
"You've done well so far, Mario," said Bowser. He then pulled out a wand with a star at the tip. "But take a look at this!" Arthur, Mario, and Peach gasped.  
"The Star Rod!" exclaimed Mario and Peach.  
"Yeah, that's right! I stole this mighty Star Rod from Star Haven! As you might know through legend, it has the power to grant any wish in the entire world, and I am going to use it to become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"  
The Star Rod began flashing and gathering up energy. Soon, Bowser was veiled by magic.  
"I don't know about you, Bowser, but you're going down, even if you were the most powerful in the world!"  
Mario gathered all his might to strike, but Bowser was left unfazed. For the first time, Mario could feel the anxiety and pressure building up inside him.  
"Mario, what's wrong?"  
Mario stood in his place, filled with uncertainty.  
"Yeah, Mario, what's wrong?" taunted Bowser, mocking Peach. "Aren't you going to make a move?"  
Mario still stood there. He was having a nervous breakdown.  
"Fine, I'll make your move for you!" Bowser grabbed the helpless Mario and breathed fire all over him. "Gwa hah ha ha! I am powerful! You are no match for me anymore! Just simply a waste of my time! It's time to end this!"  
Bowser leaped high into the air, pounding Mario into the ground.  
"Mario!" cried Arthur and Peach.

* * *

"Oh, yeah! I finally beat Mario! This is the most glorious day of my entire life, bar none!" gloated Bowser.  
"Congratulations, Your Viciousness!" said Kammy. "With Mario out of the picture, nobody can stop the almighty Koopa King now!"  
"That's right, Kammy! And I couldn't have done it without the help of _this_ almighty Star Rod! As long as it is in my possession, everything I wish for will come true! I am officially invincible!"  
"How could you!?" Peach and Arthur screamed as Bowser approached him.  
"And as for you, little boy! _You_ must be Mario's partner in crime!"  
"What? I-" Arthur began before Bowser knocked him out with a slash of his claw.  
"Not even Mario's backups can stand a chance against me!"  
"Oh, His minions are never gonna hear the end of it from His Powerfulness!" Kammy mumbled.  
"Yeah, it's-a Wario time!" a voice called.  
"Wario?" gasped Peach, Bowser, and Kammy in shock.  
Wario, able to move again, ran past the unconscious Arthur and Mario and rushed to attack Bowser.  
Unfortunately, like Arthur and Mario's attempt before his, Bowser defeated Wario very easily with just a slash of his claw and the help of his invincibility.  
"Did you really think you could beat me, tough-muscly Mario-lookalike? We may have conspired together in the past, but I am afraid you will take the Star Rod from me for your own desires! Do not forget, I am and always will be tougher than you, with or without the Star Rod!"  
"Now that we've done away with these three, Your Resilientness, what shall we do with them?" asked Kammy.  
"We shall dispose of them!" cackled Bowser. "They're no good to anybody for sure! Gwa ha ha ha ha!"  
The Star Rod charged up again, unleashing a lighting bolt sending Mario, Arthur, and Wario out of the castle.  
"Mario! Arthur!" wailed Peach, looking out the window as the three descended from the sky. "NOO!"  
"Seize her!" Kammy ordered two Koopatrols.  
Arthur, Mario, and Wario kept falling, and falling, and falling until they hit the ground.

* * *

*A spoof name of Toy Story 2, from the episode "D.W.'s Time Trouble." I made up Doll Story 1, as there had to be a first movie before the second.  
**PWEL-A LEGO spoof. Name is derived from "play well," as with the real thing, but is derived from the English rather than the Danish.  
***A spoof name of Pokémon from the episode "Arthur Loses His Marbles," I made the rest of the spoof names up. Admittedly, as a Pokémon fan, I found it a little offensive, although I don't think they intended for it to be, based on the dialogue in the scene where it was mentioned.

* * *

If people like this enough, I'll continue it!

I will also be posting cover art soon!


	2. A Not-So-Rude Awakening

_**Paper Arthur**_

 _Chapter 0-1 A Not-So-Rude-Awakening_

Okay, since I didn't give you the heads up that this story might be slower-paced than the original game, I'm going to tell you right now. The reason I am considering slowing down the pace was so I could add some moments of friendship as per Arthur's TV show. I also hope this chapter flows better than the previous. (Frankly, I think it does!)

* * *

Birds chirped as Arthur lay unconscious on the ground, surrounded by bushes and trees. Beside him were Mario and Wario, also unconscious.  
Suddenly, the three of them began to see the seven Star Spirits in their states of unconsciousness: Eldstar, a golden star with wise white eyebrows and a kindly white moustache, Mamar, a yellow star with lipstick and a dark pink bow atop her tip, Skolar, a lavender star with smart-looking glasses reminiscent of a stereotypical college professor, Muskular, a tough baby blue star with a sailor's hat, Misstar, a pink star with a yellow ribbon around her head, Klevar, a bright chartreuse star with a bowtie and a book in his hand, and Kalmar, a lemon star with a calm face and demeanor.  
"Are they okay?" asked Misstar, worried for the three. Mamar and Kalmar checked the three out to assess if they were okay.  
"They appear to be out cold. They're gravely injured, but I think they'll recover," said Kalmar.  
"That's a relief!" said Skolar.  
"Thank heavens they're alive!" said Mamar.  
"But Bowser has the Star Rod!" said Klevar. "He's so strong that not even Wario can outmatch him! All is lost!"  
"Everybody keep it together," said Eldstar. "As long as we remain valiant, there will always be hope... We must try to revive these three, for our fates, and the fate of the world, are in their hands. Everybody, send them your power!"  
They sent some energy coursing through Arthur, Mario, and Wario. They tried to give as much energy as possible, but Arthur, Mario, and Wario wouldn't wake up.  
"Well, that's all we can do for now," sighed Eldstar. "Arthur... Mario... Wario... Please get up... We beg you..."  
Eldstar waved as he and the other Star Spirits disappeared from the consciousnesses of the three.

* * *

A dark pink Goomba named Goombaria with an orange bow atop her head was taking a little stroll, humming to herself. Soon, she stumbled upon Arthur, Mario, and Wario. She was confused at first when she first saw them.  
"Huh. I could've sworn I heard something fall around here," she said in her squeaky little voice. "Unless... Unless those three people were the ones who fell here!"  
She went up close to examine them carefully. First, she went up to Mario.  
"The red hat and matching shirt... The blue overalls... The mustache! This must be the one and only Mario! I've got to get Goombario here! He would be thrilled!"  
Then she moved on to Arthur.  
"The ears, yellow shirt, and glasses... And this really looks like Arthur Read! My favorite TV show and book series... Am I imagining things? Not only do I see the real Mario, my brother's idol, but I also get to see Arthur, my idol!"  
Lastly, she took a look at Wario.  
"Who exactly is this hideous, ugly, fat Mario-wannabe? Ah, well... Hey! Wake up! Up and at 'em! C'mon! Kick Bowser's butt!"  
Goombaria tried her hardest to get the three of them up, but it was no use.  
"Oh, no, oh, no, what am I going to do?" she cried. "They won't wake up!"  
She ran to call for her family to help. The entire family immediately rushed the three to a Toad House.

* * *

That night, Arthur saw Eldstar deep in his consciousness.  
Am I really dreaming inside a dream? he thought to himself.  
"Arthur... Can you hear me?"  
"W-Who are you?" Arthur's consciousness asked.  
"I am Eldstar, leader of the Star Spirits... Sadly, I haven't the strength to talk to you here so it is urgent that you come to Shooting Star Summit... Mario can show you the way... The other Star Spirits and I will be waiting for you there... I have something to tell you... It concerns a princess and her Mushroom Kingdom... Please, Arthur, come as soon as possible..."  
After the sun rose, Arthur woke up.  
"What was that?" Arthur asked himself. He looked around. Mario and Wario were recovering, but were still sound asleep. He grabbed the nearby phone and called Buster to tell him about his dream.

* * *

"Cool! It must be a message from the aliens!" exclaimed Buster.  
"No, no, that's not what I'm trying to say! This star-shaped creature was talking to me while I was unconscious!"  
"Star-shaped creatures?" Buster laughed. "Those are clearly aliens!"  
"Buster, you don't understand..."  
"Come to think about it, tell me where have you been..."  
"Okay, so a foreign mailman sent me a letter inviting me to a party. At the party, I was invited to see the host, then a monster came and attacked me. I blacked out, and heard some strange voices in my head later. One of them told me to go to this place called Shooting Star Summit before I finally woke up in some kind of small apartment."  
"Strange..."  
"I know, right?"

* * *

When Arthur was finished talking to Buster, Mario woke up.  
"Did you see that Eldstar while we were out cold?" he asked Arthur.  
"Yeah... I talked to my friend Buster about it!"  
"Eldstar told me I'm going to be rich if I come to Shooting Star Summit!" Wario exclaimed as he got up. "Too bad I'll be stuck with Stupid Mario..."  
"Hey!"  
Before an argument could break out, the owner of the Toad House came to greet them.  
"Morning!" Arthur said to the owner.  
"Good morning boys!" the owner said back. He was a red Toad with a blue vest. "I'm so glad you three are alright! Especially you, Mario! You three haven't opened your eyes for days!"  
"Where are we?" asked Arthur.  
"This is Goomba Village, a tiny village just west of Toad Town. The only residents are me and a single family of Goombas, so technically, it's not really a village. Small, eh? Anyway, I can bet you the family of Goombas is the nicest you'll meet around these parts. They found you three out cold in the forest and brought you three here to recover."  
"Oh. Anyway, this star with a mustache showed up and told me to go to Shooting Star Summit. Do you know what's up with that?"  
"Sorry, I haven't seen anything like that... I didn't see anybody visit this house either... After all, this is an incredibly small village!"  
"Then I must have been dreaming..."  
"Or maybe it could be a message from the Star Spirits up in Star Haven! And Shooting Star Summit is right near Star Haven, so that's got to be it!"  
"Oh, yeah... That makes a lot of sense now!"  
"In any case, I'm glad you three recovered. The Goombas would sure be delighted if you paid them a visit!"  
"We'll do that!" said Arthur as he left. "It was nice talking to you!"

* * *

As the three left the Toad House, they were greeted by Goombaria and her brother Goombario.  
"You're okay!" gasped Goombario. "I'm Goombario, Mario's biggest fan! I've played all your video games and heard of all your exploits! All those bad guys you beat sure had it handed to them! And Goombaria's Arthur's biggest fan! I can't believe it... this is a dream come true for the both of us!"  
"Well, yeah, it's-a-me, Mario!" Mario said to the two.  
"We were worried about you," said Goombaria. "You three were lying there, unable to open your eyes! I thought you guys were pretty much dead!"  
"Well, thanks for beinging us to the nearest Toad House," said Arthur.  
"Our pleasure! After all, we finally got the opportunity to meet our idols!" said Goombario.  
"Hey, what about me?" asked Wario. "Aren't I better than these two losers?"  
"It's nice to meet you guys, too, Goombario and Goombaria!" said Arthur, ignoring Wario. "We gotta go! Bye, Goombario! Bye, Goombaria!"  
"Bye Mario! Bye Arthur!" Goombario and Goombaria called back.

* * *

"Howdy Mario! Howdy Arthur! Feeling better?" asked Goompapa, Goombario and Goombaria's father. He was fixing the fence with some assistance from his wife Goomama. "Feel free to rest in our house if you'd like."  
"You say hi to the losers but not me?" asked Wario.  
"I don't know who you are, mister, sorry!"  
"No thank you," Arthur told Goompapa. "We've got to get going to Shooting Star Summit. Do you know how to get there?"  
"Shooting Star Summit? My, you must have something important to do! It's near Toad Town, I believe. You'll have to wait, though. An earthquake wrecked the gate real good, so I have to fix it right now. Did you feel the quake? Shoot, I thought the sky was falling!"  
"That was a big earthquake, alright," said Arthur.  
"It must have come from Peach's castle!" answered Mario. "It must-a-be Bowser's doing! When the castle lifted thousands of feet up in the air, he showed up with the Star Rod in his hands, rendering himself invincible!"  
"That has got to be the most you've spoken," said Goompapa. "Anyway, while you're waiting, why not kick back and relax at our house? I'll have the gate fixed soon."  
"Yeah, might as well..." said Arthur as he went to Goombario's house.  
"Hurry up with that gate! I want to go find treasure!" Wario told Goompapa.  
"Be patient, err... err..."  
"Wario! It's Wario, you-" Wario shook Goompapa.  
"Calm down, calm down, be patient..."

* * *

Goombario and Goombario's grandmother, Gooma was watching her grandchildren fight over the TV when Arthur and Mario came in.  
"I don't want to wait! My favorite TV show's going to start in a minute!"  
"Too bad," said Goombario. "If I pause now, I'm going to lose my momentum when I get back to the game!"  
"Guys, guys!" Arthur said to the siblings. "No need to fight over this; TV shows usually start at a specific time, and last for around ten to twenty minutes. Video games, on the other hand, can be played any time of the day. TO make a long story short: Goombaria gets to watch her TV first."  
"Aww..." said Goombario.  
"Yay!" exclaimed Goombaria, who switched the TV output with a single press of a button on the remote.  
"Ho ho ho ho, kids..." chuckled Gooma. "Do you two have siblings? Have you ever fought over the TV?"  
"Well, I remember fighting over the TV with my sister D.W. every time I want to watch Bionic Bunny and she wants to watch stupid Mary Moo Cow..." Arthur responded.  
"Mmm..." Mario responded as well. As a kid, he hadn't really fought with the TV with Luigi very often, so he couldn't relate.  
"Why don't you see Goompa? He's fixing the veranda in the back."  
"Sure thing!"  
Arthur and Mario went to the veranda, where Goompa was taking a nap. Oddly, the front of the house was on the ground, but the veranda was not, even though they were at about the same level of ground. Sure, the view outside wss pretty nice, but it would probably be bad if the veranda broke.  
"Oh! You startled me!" Goompa woke up when the door to the veranda opened. "It's Mario and Arthur, is it not? It's good to see you two recovered! I prayed and prayed that you would make it, and my prayers have been answered! And by the way, you may call me Goompa. I'm little Goombario and little Goombaria's grandfather."  
"Your family seems very nice," said Arthur. "By the way, what are you doing?"  
"I'm just hangin' around here, fixin' the veranda..."  
"Yeah, about that... I have to ask you something."  
"Sorry, but could you save that question for later?"  
"Sure..." Arthur sighed as he went back into the house. He was going to ask why the veranda was hanging over a ledge.  
"Hi, Arthur! Hi Mario!" Goombaria and Goombario greeted, still watching TV.  
"Our dad's been looking for you two," Goombario said. "He wants you to know that the gate is finished."  
"Alright then," replied Arthur as he, Mario, and the siblings left the house. "We'll go talk to him."

* * *

"Alrighty, umm... Wario, the gate's all fixed up!" Goompapa told the impatient Wario.  
"About-a time! I'm sick of waiting for you to fix that stupid fence!"  
"How rude!" gasped an appalled Goompapa. He then turned his attention to Arthur and Mario. "Oh, hey, Arthur! Hey, Mario! Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but hey, the wait must be worth it! I finally got that dang gate fixed!"  
"While Wario was heckling you with absolute rudeness..." grumbled Mario. He was usually nice, but he was pretty hostile with Wario.  
"Now, now, Mario, Wario may be pretty rude, but please, for heaven's sake, don't sink down to his level!"  
"La, la, la, la, la, I'm not listening to you losers!" Wario said over Goompapa.  
"See what I mean? Anyway, if you take this road straight ahead, you'll eventually make it to Toad Town, where Peach's Castle is. Just beyond that should be the Shooting Star Summit."  
"Thanks!" Arthur and Mario replied.  
"Oh, and by the way, please do come back and visit us when you can!" Goomama exclaimed.

* * *

"Hee! Yee hee heee!"  
"It's you!" Arthur gasped as Kammy showed up. She zoomed around the area for a bit before stopping in front of Arthur, Mario, and Wario.  
"That's right, little boy! I should've known you and Mario were still around! You should've perished after taking such a big beating from King Bowser!"  
"Well, we're alive, and still kicking!"  
"Oh, such a feisty, but ordinary eight year old! I was smart to look all over the kingdom to make sure you were completely obliterated!"  
"My goodness!" Goomama exclaimed. "Who is that wretched spellcasting witch?"  
"Wretched!? Why, such an insolent little family of Goombas! I am a beautiful Koopa with a beautiful name! Kammy Koopa!"  
"You don't look so pretty..." Goombaria said.  
"Humph! How rude! I swear, I am going to teach you a lesson one day! But for now..." Kammy conjured up a big, yellow block, crushing the gate with a big thud.  
"You can't do this!" Arthur gasped.  
"Nyeah heh heh heh! See if you can get to Bowser and rescue the princess now!" Kammy cackled as she left. "You'll be happy under his rule!"  
"Blast!" Goompapa exclaimed. "I just fixed that gate!"  
"Oh, no... How are we going to get around that block now?" Arthur asked.

He thought about what Binky would do in this situation.  
"Hey, tough block! You think you can break my bones? Well, I can break your face!"  
And he would ram into the block, smashing it.

"Too bad Binky's not around..."  
"Who's Binky?" asked Goombaria.  
"Let's... just say he was your average tough-guy type bully, with a softer side he tries to hide..."  
"...Oh."  
"I hope the princess will be okay..." Goomama sighed.  
Arthur, Mario, and Wario explained what happened to the princess.  
"Bowser did what!?" the Goomba family gasped. "And you have to go to Shooting Star Summit and rescue her?"  
"Dad, we've got to get rid of that block! I mean, Mario's the only one who can save the princess!" Goombaria said.  
"Hmm..." Goompapa thought hard for a minute before offering a solution. "Perhaps you could go to Goompa and borrow the hammer he's using to fix the veranda. I'm sure he'll let you use it."  
"No-a way! This is a job for Wario, and Wario only!"  
Wario rammed into the yellow block, only to recoil and hurt his shoulder.  
"Come on, Wario," Goombario said. "Let's go see grandpa!"  
They went back to the veranda, which was now missing. They panicked as they fell down.  
The rest of the family could hear them screaming as they fell.  
"Drat!" said Gooma. "I tried telling Goompa it was a bad idea to build past that ledge, but no, he didn't listen!"

* * *

I have to admit, once I started putting the prologue together, I realized that Arthur was intended to represent the average eight-year-old, so I wasn't so sure he'd add much to the fanfic. Ah, well, I'll see if I can get it to work in the future!


End file.
